Thesis Formatting, Style, and Structure

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Title Page

The title page must include the thesis title, author’s name, date of submission, and the following statement:
A senior thesis submitted to the Department of East Asian Studies of Princeton University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Honor Code

Please sign and date the honor code for each copy of the paper on the last page with the following text:
This paper represents my own work in accordance with University regulations. I pledge my honor that I have not violated the honor code during the writing of this paper.

Sample of senior thesis title and final page

Table of Contents

A table of contents listing the title and page number of each chapter should follow the title page. On a page preceding the table of contents you may wish to acknowledge any special assistance or support that you received in writing your thesis.

Length

The text must be double-spaced, and 60-100 pages in length (excluding the bibliography).

Quotations

Long quotations should be indented. All quotations from Chinese, Japanese or Korean sources should be translated into English. Inclusion of these sources in their original script is not required. If unavailable in the Gest Library add a copy of the original language text as an appendix.

Footnotes

Footnotes are preferred to endnotes, but either are acceptable. Endnotes should be double-spaced; footnotes may be single-spaced. In annotating, even if you have not made a direct quotation but are paraphrasing, give the reference. Be fair to your sources; acknowledge them.

Romanization

Consult with your adviser well in advance on which romanization system you will use. Then be consistent. Do not simply adopt the spellings in your English-language sources. This is a sure sign that you are out of touch with your Asian language sources.

Provide romanization on the first occurrence of the transliteration of proper titles, etc., or provide a glossary of these characters. Characters for commonly known names (e.g., Tokyo, Beijing, Tokugawa, and Qing) may be omitted. Be consistent.

Bibliography

For book titles, characters must appear in the bibliography, but not necessarily in the notes. In general, the bibliography should consist of a single alphabetized list, irrespective of the language. Give full bibliographical information so the editions you have used can be identified.

Style

Citation and style resources can be found on the Princeton University Library website. In other matters of style, when in doubt follow the MLA style or the Chicago style. The important thing is to be consistent.

Sample Thesis Titles

  • A Vision of Change: Analyzing the Role of Social Adaptation in the Resettlement Process of North Korean Defectors.
  • The Better Earth: Contextualizing Contemporary Organic Farming with China's Dynamic Agricultural History
  • China, Zhōng Guó, Assessing Michelangelo Antonioni’s Chung Kuo: Cina
  • Cold War Crutches: Mao Zedong's "Lean to One Side" Policy and Sino-American Confrontation in Korea
  • Ding Ling and the Chinese Woman: From Empowerment to Mobilization
  • Identity and Ideology: Religion and Ethnicity in State Formation during the Northern Dynasties
  • Japanese Portrayals of African Americans in Literature and Television: 1940-2010
  • Japan's Emerging Role on the Korean Peninsula: The Dynamics of Japan-South Korea Relations in the Post-Cold War Era.
  • Kpop and Islam in Turkey: The Pious Generation and the Heathen’s Music
  • Infected and Deviant: Korean Netizen Responses to Early COVID-19 Outbreaks
  • Representations of Modern Japanese Schools: Eyes of a Chick & Maria is Watching
  • The White-Clad: Media, Police and Public Imagination in Post-Aum Japan

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